Borrelia in neotropical bats: Detection of two new phylogenetic lineages

Colunga‐Salas, Pablo; Sánchez‐Montes, Sokani; León‐Paniagua, Livia; Becker, Ingeborg

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101642

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Nevertheless, the results obtained do not rule out the possibility that other ectoparasite species may be acting as vectors of these spirochetes, as recorded by other authors [38,76,77]. For South America, several Lyme disease group genospecies have previously been documented in both wild mammals and ticks [8,38,42,[78][79][80]. In countries such as Brazil, the Baggio-Yoshinari syndrome has occurred, which is clinically similar to Lyme disease [81]; however, the causative agent could not be confirmed to be B. burgdorferi s.s. [82].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Is Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto in South America? First Molecular Evidence of Its Presence in Colombia

et al. 2022

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The genus Borrelia encompasses spirochetal species that are part of three well-defined groups. Two of these groups contain pathogens that affect humans: the group causing Lyme disease (LDG) and the relapsing fever group (RFG). Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., which is distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and relapsing fevers are caused by Borrelia spp., which are found in temperate and tropical countries and are an emerging but neglected pathogens. In some departments of Colombia, there are records of the presence of Borrelia sp. in humans and bats. However, little is known about the impact and circulation of Borrelia spp. in the country, especially in wildlife, which can act as a reservoir and/or amplifying host. In this context, the objective of our research was to detect and identify the Borrelia species present in wild mammals in the departments of Caldas and Risaralda in Colombia. For morphological detection, blood smears and organ imprints were performed, and molecular identification was carried out through a nested PCR directed on the flagellin B (flaB) gene. A total of 105 mammals belonging to three orders (Chiroptera, Didelphimorphia and Rodentia) were analyzed, of which 15.24% (n = 16) were positive for Borrelia. Molecularly, the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. in lung tissues of Thomasomys aureus and blood of Mus musculus (Rodentia) was detected, with 99.64 and 100% identity, respectively. Borrelia sp. genospecies from a clade branch of a bat-associated LDG sister group were identified in seven individuals of bat species, such as Artibeus lituratus, Carollia brevicauda, Sturnira erythromos, and Glossophaga soricina. Furthermore, two Borrelia genospecies from the RFG in seven individuals of bats (A. lituratus, Artibeus jamaicensis, Platyrrhinus helleri, Mesophylla macconnelli, Rhynchonycteris naso) and rodents (Coendou rufescens, Microryzomys altissimus) were documented. Additionally, the presence of a spirochete was detected by microscopy in the liver of a Sturnira erythromos bat specimen. These results contain the first molecular evidence of the presence of B. burgdorferi s.s. in South America, which merits the need for comprehensive studies involving arthropods and vertebrates (including humans) in other departments of Colombia, as well as neighboring countries, to understand the current status of the circulation of Borrelia spp. in South America.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Is Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto in South America? First Molecular Evidence of Its Presence in Colombia

et al. 2022

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“…[9], Rhinolophus pusillus, and Myotis davidii bats in China [12]. Regarding Latin America, in Mexico, Colunga-Salas et al detected two new lineages of Borrelia, one RF and one Bb, in Saccopteryx bilineata, Choeroniscus godmani, Sturnira parvidens, and Lasiurus cinereus [11]. In Colombia, in 1968, Marinkelle and Grose observed spirochetes in a blood smear of Natalus tumidirostris [43] In our study, two phylogenetic analyses were performed including Borrelia spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, several members of the order Rodentia are reservoir hosts [5,6]. Moreover, bats may also be involved as alternative hosts [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Indeed, several studies have reported Borrelia spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular evidence of Borrelia spp. in bats from Córdoba Department, northwest Colombia

et al. 2023

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Background The genus Borrelia is composed of two well-defined monophyletic groups, the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (Bb) and the relapsing fever (RF) group borreliae. Recently, a third group, associated with reptiles and echidnas, has been described. In general, RF group borreliae use rodents as reservoir hosts; although neotropical bats may also be involved as important hosts, with scarce knowledge regarding this association. The objective of this study was to detect the presence of Borrelia spp. DNA in bats from the department of Córdoba in northwest Colombia. Methods During September 2020 and June 2021, 205 bats were captured in six municipalities of Córdoba department, Colombia. Specimens were identified using taxonomic keys and DNA was extracted from spleen samples. A Borrelia-specific real-time PCR was performed for the 16S rRNA gene. Fragments of the 16S rRNA and flaB genes were amplified in the positive samples by conventional PCR. The detected amplicons were sequenced by the Sanger method. Phylogenetic reconstruction was performed in IQ-TREE with maximum likelihood based on the substitution model TPM3+F+I+G4 with bootstrap values deduced from 1000 replicates. Results Overall, 10.2% (21/205) of the samples were found positive by qPCR; of these, 81% (17/21) and 66.6% (14/21) amplified 16S rRNA and flaB genes, respectively. qPCR-positive samples were then subjected to conventional nested and semi-nested PCR to amplify 16S rRNA and flaB gene fragments. Nine positive samples for both genes were sequenced, and seven and six sequences were of good quality for the 16S rRNA and flaB genes, respectively. The DNA of Borrelia spp. was detected in the insectivorous and fruit bats Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Phyllostomus discolor, and Uroderma sp. The 16S rRNA gene sequences showed 97.66–98.47% identity with “Borrelia sp. clone Omi3,” “Borrelia sp. RT1S,” and Borrelia sp. 2374; the closest identities for the flaB gene were 94.02–98.04% with “Borrelia sp. Macaregua.” For the 16S rRNA gene, the phylogenetic analysis showed a grouping with “Candidatus Borrelia ivorensis” and “Ca. Borrelia africana,” and for the flaB gene showed a grouping with Borrelia sp. Macaregua and Borrelia sp. Potiretama. The pathogenic role of the Borrelia detected in this study is unknown. Conclusions We describe the first molecular evidence of Borrelia spp. in the department of Córdoba, Colombia, highlighting that several bat species harbor Borrelia spirochetes. Graphical Abstract

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“…[9], Rhinolophus pusillus and Myotis davidii bats in China [12]. Regarding Latin America, in Mexico, Colunga-Salas et al detected two new lineages of Borrelia, one RF and Bb, in Saccopteryx bilineata, Choeroniscus godmani, Sturnira parvidens and Lasiurus cinereus [11]. In Colombia, in 1968, Marinkelle and Grose observed spirochetes in a blood smear of Natalus tumidirostris [40] from the Macaregua cave, and in 2020 Muñoz-Leal et al detected a new putative taxon within the genus Borrelia in Carollia perspicillata captured in the same cave [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most species of Borrelia have complex transmission cycles in which they interact with multiple vertebrate hosts and vectors [1]. Several members of the order Rodentia are reservoir hosts [5,6], however, bats may also be involved as alternative hosts, given the evidence of Borrelia in these mammals worldwide [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Furthermore, several studies reported Borrelia spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular evidence of Borrelia spp. in bats from Córdoba department, northwest Colombia.

López¹,

Muñoz-Léal

Martínez³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background The genus Borrelia is composed of two well-defined monophyletic groups that contain pathogens in humans: the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (Bb), and relapsing fever (RF) group borreliae. Recently, a third group, associated with reptiles and echidnas has been described. In general, RF group borreliae use rodents as reservoir hosts; although Neotropical bats may also be involved as important hosts, with scarce knowledge of this association. The objective of this study was to detect the presence of Borrelia spp. DNA in bats from the department of Córdoba in northwest Colombia. Methods During September 2020 and June 2021, 205 bats were captured in six municipalities of Córdoba department, Colombia. Specimens were identified using taxonomic keys and DNA was extracted from spleen samples. A Borrelia specific real-time PCR was performed for the 16S rRNA gene. Fragments of the 16S rRNA and flaB genes were amplified in the positive samples by conventional PCR. The detected amplicons were sequenced by the Sanger method. Phylogenetic reconstruction was performed in Iqtree with maximum likelihood based on substitution model TPM3 + F + I + G4 with Bootstrap values were deduced from 1000 replicates. Sequences were submitted to phylogenetic analyses. Results Overall, 10.2% (21/205) samples were positive by qPCR; of these, 81% (17/21) and 66.6% (14/21) were positive for the 16S rRNA and flaB genes, respectively. qPCR-positive samples were then subjected to conventional nested and semi-nested PCR to amplify 16S rRNA and flaB gene fragments. Nine positive randomly selected samples for both genes were sequenced. The DNA of Borrelia spp. was detected in the insectivorous and fruit bats Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Phyllostomus discolor, and Uroderma sp. The 16S-rRNA gene sequences showed an identity of 97.66–98.47% with “Borrelia sp. clone Omi3”, “Borrelia sp. RT1S” and Borrelia sp. 2374; the closest identities for the flaB gene were 94.02–98.04% with “Borrelia sp. Macaregua”. For the 16S rRNA gene, the phylogenetic analysis showed a grouping with “Candidatus Borrelia ivorensis” and “Ca. African Borrelia” and for the flaB gene showed a grouping with Borrelia sp. Macaregua. The pathogenic role of the Borrelia detected in this study is unknown. Conclusions We describe the first molecular evidence of Borrelia spp. in the department of Córdoba in Colombia highlighting that several bat species harbor Borrelia spirochetes.

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Borrelia in neotropical bats: Detection of two new phylogenetic lineages

Cited by 8 publications

References 53 publications

Is Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto in South America? First Molecular Evidence of Its Presence in Colombia

Is Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto in South America? First Molecular Evidence of Its Presence in Colombia

Molecular evidence of Borrelia spp. in bats from Córdoba Department, northwest Colombia

Molecular evidence of Borrelia spp. in bats from Córdoba department, northwest Colombia.

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